Be There Dragons

Envy – Take 2

I’ve been trying to replace a handful of my work tops. My usual “uniform” for work is black, grey or ink trousers, a top, and then a jacket or cardigan to “finish” it. Ink, if you’re wondering, is a very dark blue. Darker than navy.

I try to follow the whole three-piece rule.

Like this. But, not orange.

If I choose a patterned top, I select a cardigan or jacket in the same color as my trousers.

You may be thinking this isn’t very creative attire for a writer, but my day job has nothing to do with creativity. People who get too creative in my line of work end up wearing orange. Not like the figure above, however.

The kind of orange you wear here.

Besides, this is the basic go-to for most business-casual in my part of America. Wearing it is like wearing camouflage. I fit right in and no one knows there’s an author in their midst.

Imagine my surprise when I couldn’t find basic patterned tops to replace a few I have that are starting to show wear.

Off the shoulder shirts, yep those were there in force. Peasant tops, sure.

Apparently “cold shoulder” tops are all the rage. These are shirts without shoulders. I’d wear them on weekends, but this is NOT appropriate work wear in my part of the country. Maybe for those of you on the west coasts, this is okay. I found the east coast to be more formal than even we are here in the the bastion of conservatism that is the Mid-West.

It also means I am probably going to be having dress code conversations with some of the more junior members of the department. *sigh* Those always go well.

But, I still needed a few tops, so I went to my standby. It’s a nice and conservative store, one I can rely on for the basics. Don;t expect trendy, but the quality is usually quite good. This is the store I turn to for business suits and jackets. Except, this is what they are serving up:

So, it looks like I will waiting until next year to replace some of my patterned tops. I was able to find some plain shells in the meantime. Once again, gimme a guy’s polo shirt or button down shirt (which can be found anywhere) and khakis.